One Melody, Three Places – A Simple Exercise for Guitar Growth

Hi friends,

This week, I uploaded a new video on YouTube that I think many of you will enjoy—especially if you're working on this month’s challenge!

The idea is simple: take the first phrase of Amazing Grace (just a few notes!), and play it in different areas of the fretboard. Always in the key of G.
It’s not flashy or complicated—but trust me, it’s powerful.

Here’s what this exercise helps you develop:

• 🎸 Fretboard awareness – You start “seeing” the same melody in multiple shapes and positions.

• 👂 Ear training – Hearing how the melody sounds as you move it around sharpens your musical ear.

• 🧠 Mind–finger connection – You build that important link between what you imagine and what your hands do.

These are the small but deep things that help us grow as guitar players.

And yes, this connects directly with July’s Challenge of the Month, where we’re exploring Oh! Susanna in three different fretboard positions. So if you’re working on that challenge, this video might give you a few ideas or a helpful warm-up.

👉 Watch the video here:
https://youtu.be/EkK892C8y2M

Hope you enjoy it—and as always, let me know what you think!

Thanks for following the journey,
– Roberto

A New Warm-Up for Your Picking Hand: String Skip Groove

This week, after a long time without it, I renewed my Netflix subscription. My wife and I ended up watching the mini-series Adolescence in one night.
I have mixed feelings… The story probably could have been told in two hours, but I really appreciated how deeply it explored the world of today’s teenagers. Raw, honest, and quite intense at times.

On a completely different note — I want to share a new right-hand exercise I recently came up with, and it’s now on YouTube.

🎸 It’s called String Skip Groove.
It’s a simple but effective warm-up that focuses on alternate picking and string skipping, while changing chords throughout. It helps improve coordination, accuracy, and overall groove.

It’s become one of my favorite ways to warm up the right hand — and I think it can be useful for late beginners and early intermediate players who want to level up their picking.

🎥 You can watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z7LJj6lUkA

Try it out, and let me know how it feels!

Until next time,
Roberto

A Crosspicking Exercise That Does More Than One Job

As I get older, I’ve become more selective about how I practice. Time is short, energy isn’t endless, so I look for exercises that make the most of both. My favorite ones are those that help you grow in multiple areas at the same time — not just dry drills, but things that connect technique with real music.

In my latest YouTube lesson, I teach a very common crosspicking pattern (on strings 4, 3, and 2) and show how to apply it across the fretboard to all the shapes of C, F, and G chords.

It’s a simple idea, but very effective:

• You work on your right-hand picking

• You learn chord shapes in the key of C

• You stay connected to the sound and feel of real music

There’s no tab, but the video is easy to follow by watching and listening.

▶️ Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/sMI1UhVgJNQ

And if you’d like more lessons like this — including breakdowns, exercises, and in-depth videos — come visit my TrueFire channel:
🎸 https://www.truefire.com/h2343

Hope you enjoy it,
Roberto